An Easy Crab Fried Rice Recipe From NYC Thai Restaurant Fish Cheeks

Frustrated by both the recent violence towards Asian Americans and its lack of coverage in the mainstream media, a small coalition of New York City’s top Asian-American chefs and restaurant owners have formed a grassroots initiative called #EnoughIsEnough. Its focus is to donate meals to homeless shelters that serve largely Asian-American, Black, and brown populations while raising awareness. In addition to the meal donations, the group organized a virtual cooking class held on February 22. All of the 22 restaurants involved are small, beloved local places, many with no more than 30 seats, but together they are making good on the initiative’s mission: to show the power of collective action.

While Enough Is Enough has met its goal of raising $25,000, any donations made past that mark will be given to charities that help Asian communities in need, such as Send Chinatown Love, and Welcome to Chinatown, and Yin Chang and Moonlynn Tsai’s Heart of Dinner. “By showing up, using our voices, and standing up against against hate in the Asian American community, we can hopefully lead by example,” says Fish Cheeks co-owner Jennifer Saesue.

Fish Cheeks is a seafood-focused Thai restaurant in New York’s NoHo. One of its most requested orders is crab meat-studded fried rice; made with dried-out jasmine rice, it has been on the menu since the restaurant opened. Below, Fish Cheeks co-owners Saesue and Ohm Suansilphong share its recipe in full. Give it a try for yourself at home the next time you have dried-out jasmine rice,; you’ll find that the recipe is uncomplicated, and will no doubt enjoy the extra layer of flavor added by the chicken powder.

Fish Cheeks Crab Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces canola oil
2 eggs
1 cup cooked jasmine rice that has been dried out over night
1/4 tablespoon salt
1/4 tablespoon sugar
1/4 tablespoon chicken powder, preferably Knorr
1 teaspoon soy sauce
4 ounces crab meat
1 bunch scallions, chopped
Cilantro to garnish

Step 1: Heat a large pan over high heat. Once hot, add the oil. Lower the heat to medium, and add the eggs. Scramble them until they’re almost cooked through.

Step 2: Add the rice, making sure to break it up so that it heats evenly.

Step 3: Add the salt, sugar, chicken powder, and soy sauce. Mix well.

Step 4: Add the crab meat. Once it’s heated through, remove the pan from the heat and add the scallions.

Step 5: Garnish with cilantro and serve.